Comments on: The diet warshttp://blogs.reuters.com/great-debate/2012/04/11/the-diet-wars/
Tue, 31 Mar 2015 18:02:48 +0000hourly1http://wordpress.org/?v=3.8.3By: AlkalineStatehttp://blogs.reuters.com/great-debate/2012/04/11/the-diet-wars/#comment-42936
Wed, 11 Apr 2012 21:44:52 +0000http://blogs.reuters.com/great-debate/?p=12440#comment-42936Why do we do this weird delicate dance with fat people? We don’t do it with smokers. We’re open about calling smokers…. self-destructive people. Yet the stock photos in articles and CDC reports on obesity universally show fat adults from the neck down so as not to identify them embarrass them. We act like it might be a ‘glandular issue’ even though most doctors agree, that makes no sense. It’s just plain old lack of self-control, coupled with plain old laziness.

Like most people, I got fat in my 30′s. I have since lost it and and I am slim again. At no time when I was gaining weight, eating McDonald’s french fries did I think, “I can’t help it. It’s my glands.”

And it’s not just the fries. You really just HAVE to know calories if you want to lose weight. For example, a whole wheat bagel (390 calories) will make you roughly twice as fat as a typical glazed donut (190 calories). Counter-intuitive, but true. And that’s WITHOUT putting the cream cheese on the bagel.

So it’s not just a matter of eating more ‘whole foods.’ You can get perfectly fat on whole foods or organic foods. A bowl of organic oatmeal with real maple syrup and walnuts (sustainably harvested) has the same calories as a big mac (540). Whole foods have their other benefits, but if you’re talking weight control…. it’s ONLY about the number of calories in vs. out. Not how many were carbs vs. fats. Not how many were ‘empty’ or what the glycemic index was. None of that matters in weight control. Just the number of calories. Eat the donut. Enjoy life. Stay skinny. Just don’t eat too many